Adam Shankman to Direct ROCK OF AGES

Adam Shankman, who directed the movie musical version of John Waters’ “Hairspray,” is returning to the genre with “Rock of Ages,” a rock-themed 80s love story set to the tunes of Journey, Twisted Sister, Joan Jett, Bon Jovi, and Pat Benatar, among others. More on the project after the jump.

Shankman told Variety he considers “Rock of Ages” “‘Mamma Mia!’ for dudes.” Apparently “every guy in the audience knew the words to the songs.” Duh, of course they did! It’s 80s rock music! New Line intends to start production next summer and Warner Bros. will release the flick in 2011.

I had the distinct pleasure of seeing “Hairspray” when it came out, and though it was a far cry from the best movie musical I’ve seen, Shankman is certainly more than competent with the style. What concerns me is, according to his IMDb profile, he has over 17 project in development, like “Hairspray 2,” not including this one. Yikes! Clearly the man likes to keep busy. The question is, with such early deadlines, “Rock of Ages” included, what project(s) will take back burner? Hopefully, for his “dude” demographic, it won’t be this one.